Le weekend

I survived the week, which is saying something, and now I just have four more work/school days to endure until Spring Break. Finally! The long-awaited, blessed respite. Even more blessed because we have Friday off, being that it is "Good Friday". "Great", I would say!

The week was not a disaster, but I wasn't firing on all cylinders. To be honest, I haven't felt great for the past few weeks, which is quite unusual for me. I'm accustomed to a once-a-year cold from which I usually recover after a few days. This time, I even took the preemptive day off so that I would recover prontito, but that failed. Tuesday, I felt my voice starting to go, but I managed to get through the day and even attended a work-related dinner, during which I ranted and raved to one of my many bosses (not the smartest thing to do, but he likes to provoke and push buttons, and I never learn that I really shouldn't rise to those sorts of challenges, whether it's my father, one of my brothers or certain male faculty members that are presenting them; do I have an issue with men? Maybe). By the end of the evening, I had lost my voice, which is problematic as a teacher.

Well, it depends. I sometimes fantasize about being one of those teachers who assigns pages to read in class and absolute silence. If I were that type of a 'teaching professional', then I wouldn't mind losing my voice. And the day wasn't terrible since I had planned on a test in most classes, but then I still had to struggle through one class which I just CANNOT miss for the rest of the year. We don't have the time. It must have been a painful experience for the students, to listen to me struggle through the reading and analysis of Rubén Darío's poetry. So much for musicality!

Fortunately, I'm feeling better now, and I even ended the week (yesterday) meeting a colleague before school yesterday to lift weights for about 20 minutes. I have about zero upper-body strength, so it is a good challenge to me. The day ended with a nice dog walk, home-made pizza thanks to Trader Joe's pizza dough, and a viewing of the movie "The Damned United". Not the best movie I've seen, but one of the most enjoyable in recent weeks.

Today, we are getting out to walk the dogs and maybe poke around Silverlake, our old 'hood' in Los Angeles. Fun times!